Labour frontbenchers defend “pro-business” credentials February 8, 2015 Two Labour frontbenchers appeared on the BBC this morning to defend the party’s business policy in the wake of mounting criticism that it was hostile to the private sector. Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt argued that Labour was “furiously, passionately, aggressively pro-business”. A number of leading figures in business have warned of [...]
David Blunkett says Labour should back Andy Burnham’s “death tax” to fund social care February 5, 2015 One of the most senior ministers of the New Labour years has urged his party to adopt a tax on inherited capital assets, such as expensive houses to fund social care. Speaking at an event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank, David Blunkett said houses in London had soared in value and should be [...]
Hedge funds hit back at Labour over tax row after Ed Miliband queries stamp duty avoidance February 4, 2015 Hedge funds have hit back at Labour’s proposals to impose a new tax on them, after Ed Miliband called for a change in current stamp duty arrangements. During Prime Minster’s questions yesterday, Miliband repeatedly asked Prime Minister David Cameron about “hedge funds avoiding stamp duty on their share transactions”, prompting an angry response from the [...]
Watch: Ed Balls forgot Labour business leader Bill Thomas’s name. Here are the Newsnight interviews that were even worse February 4, 2015 Labour's attempt to woo the business community appears to be going from bad to worse. On Tuesday, business leaders took the media to lambast Ed Miliband's attack on Boots boss Stefano Pessina and Labour's rhetoric on markets. To counter the charge that his party was anti-business Ed Balls was booked into Newsnight to defend his [...]
Ukip candidate Donald Grewar resigns after praising homophobic BNP website post February 3, 2015 Ukip's candidate for Newport East has resigned after praising homophobic comments made on an article on the BNP's website. Donald Grewar quit his candidacy for the Welsh seat following an investigation by Ukip into his behaviour. A Ukip spokesman said: Mr Grewar agreed completely with the assessment that his actions, while not malicious, were regrettable. [...]
Ukip mapped: How UK immigration breaks down January 30, 2015 Ukip seems set to run its 2015 General Election campaign on the back of the UK’s distrust of Europe and concerns about immigration. According to new analysis of 2011 census data by the Office for National Statistics, the vast majority of migration is domestic; residents move between areas far more often than they come from [...]
General Election 2015: Tories and Labour neck and neck but don’t dismiss the Lib Dems January 27, 2015 With under 100 days to go, the general election is now extremely close. Polls put Labour and the Tories neck and neck, and the minor parties are breaking through like never before. The Greens, Ukip, and the SNP are surging, and, along with Plaid Cymru and the Northern Irish parties, are giving Britain truly multi-party [...]
Tories are winning the race for policy recognition January 27, 2015 With just 100 days to go until the General Election voters may already be tiring of the political parties endlessly repeated policy pledges and sound bite phrases. Why do they keep saying the same thing over and over again? This a frequent complaint of an electorate that has suffer through the repetition of "long-term economic [...]
General Election 2015: The best #UkipFilmTitles on Twitter January 26, 2015 Ukip may be trying to laugh off the defection of MEP Amjad Bashir to the Tories, as the Yorkshire and Humber representative dubbed the anti-immigration party “pointless” this weekend. But will Nigel Farage et al find today's #UkipFilmTitles hashtag amusing? And most importantly, with 100 days to go until the General Election, will [...]
“Ukip is guided more by dogma than common sense”: Amjad Bashir explains why he defected back to the Tories January 25, 2015 Last night, former Ukip member Amjad Bashir defected back to the Conservative party. He was elected Ukip MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber in 2014, and had also become the pro-independence party's communities spokesman. Originally he moved over from the Conservatives because he wanted a definite referendum on Britain's European Union membership and [...]